Title:

Can Snow be Insulation?

Problem Scenario:

I chose this problem because when I went on a hike with my family and some friends we laid down in the snow and I would feel a sense of warmth and I felt cozy. I asked my Dad why this is and he said that it was because snow had it's own insulation properties and that it can stay warm. I decided to explore that question further and use it as my science fair project. Snow fascinates me because I spend a lot of time skiing in it and doing other activities in it.

Broad Question

Insulation Properties of Snow?

Specific Question

How does the compaction of snow affect it's insulation properties?

Hypothesis

I think the more snow is compacted the warmth ,or the increase of insulation properties, will rise.

Graph of Hypothesis

My Graph of hypothesis. The Non-Compacted might be a little lower though.

Variables

Independent Variable:

Compaction.

Dependent Variable:

Insulation properties.

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

Temp.,Amount of snow compacted and non compacted, what I compact the snow with.

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

Compact:
joined or packed together; closely and firmly united; dense; solid:
Insulation:
to cover, line, or separate with a material that prevents or reduces the passage, transfer, or leakage of heat, electricity, or sound

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General Plan

I am going to take 8 pieces of small cardboard squares and form two separate "containers" to divide my compacted snow from my powdery snow. Two of the cardboard pieces will create a roof for the two containers so no more excess snow will interfere. The next step will be to use a LabQuest™ and 3 tempo probes to measure the temperature outside and inside of each of the containers. This will be done over the course of a 9 hour period. I will save the data on the LabQuest™, upload it to a computer at school onto a spreadsheet. This will allow me to compare and create a graph of my data onto my wiki page.

Potential Problems And Solutions

The LabQuest™ may not be set up properly to capture data- Solution.... triple check your LabQuest™ to make sure the probes, data samples, and time period have been set correctly.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns:

Snow may melt by the time I'm ready to do the experiment.

Experimental Design

(add the correct headings from the experimental design page before beginning)

What is your experimental unit?

8 small cardboard squares creating 2 containers with the exact same snow amount, 1 LabQuest™, 3 probes

Number Of Trials:

I will do this experiment once... Correctly :()

Number Of Subjects In Each trial:

The number of subjects in my experiment will be 2.

Number of Observations:

I will take observations to ensure the LabQuest™and experiment are working properly.

When data will be collected

February 19th 2013

Where will data be collected?:

At my house in my backyard.

Resources and Budget Table

Item	Number needed	Where I will get this	Cost
Lab Quest	2	Mr. Biche	0$
Cardboard Pieces	8	Mr. Biche	0$
Something to cover LabQuest with.	1	Home	0$

Detailed Procedure

Step 1. First get 8 pieces of cardboard that are all the same size.
Step 2. Then get 1 lab quest and 3 plug in tempo's for it.
Step 3. Then go outside and make 2 piles of snow in same area using the 8 cardboard pieces.
Step 4. After that you need to compact one side down but don't add any snow to it.
Step 5. Then apply the tempo probes in the bottom of the snow.
Step 6. Record the temperatures over one night.
Step 7. Do that once.
Step 8. Put all the data you got over the coarse of those nights and record them and check which one is right.
Step 9. Compare with your hypothesis.

Diagram

Photo List

Time Line

Procedure,timeline,photo list--2/1
begin experiment--2/4
experiment done--3/1
analysis--3/7
discussion/background--3/15
wiki complete--3/15
posters complete----3/22
KMS fair--3/29

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Data Table

Time	Powder	Compact	NightTemp
0	0.3	0.1	7.4
0.08	0.5	0.3	0
0.17	0.7	0.4	-0.2
0.25	0	-0.3	-1
0.33	0.1	0	-0.9
0.42	0.2	0	-0.7
0.5	0.3	0	-0.7
0.58	0.3	0.2	-0.7
0.67	0.3	0.1	-0.7
0.75	0.3	0.1	-0.6
0.83	0.4	0.1	-0.7
0.92	0.4	0	-0.6
1	0.6	0.4	-0.3
1.08	-0.1	-0.3	-1.1
1.17	0.3	0	-0.8
1.25	0.3	0.1	-0.8
1.33	0.3	0.1	-0.8
1.42	0	-0.2	-1.1
1.5	0.7	0.4	-0.4
1.58	0.3	0.1	-0.9
1.67	0.5	0.3	-0.6
1.75	0.7	0.4	-0.5
1.83	0.6	0.3	-0.4
1.92	0.3	0.1	-0.9
2	0.3	0	-0.8
2.08	0.3	0	-0.9
2.17	0.3	0	-0.8
2.25	0.2	0	-1
2.33	0.3	0	-0.9
2.42	0	-0.1	-1.2
2.5	0.2	0	-1
2.58	-0.1	-0.3	-1.3
2.67	0.2	0	-0.9
2.75	0.7	0.4	-0.4
2.83	0.3	0	-1
2.92	0.3	0	-1
3	0.3	0	-1
3.08	0.2	0	-0.9
3.17	0.2	0	-1
3.25	0.3	0	-1.1
3.33	0.2	0	-1
3.42	0.6	0.4	-0.7
3.5	0.2	0	-1.1
3.58	0.3	0.1	-0.8
3.67	0.6	0.3	-0.8
3.75	0	-0.3	-1.4
3.83	-0.1	-0.3	-1.4
3.92	0	-0.1	-1.3
4	0.3	0	-1
4.08	0.7	0.4	-0.4
4.17	0.1	-0.3	-1.1
4.25	0.2	0	-0.8
4.33	0.3	0	-0.7
4.42	0.3	0	-1.1
4.5	0.5	0.3	-0.7
4.58	0.2	-0.1	-1.1
4.67	0	-0.4	-1.3
4.75	0.3	0	-0.9
4.83	0.6	0.2	-0.8
4.92	0.2	-0.1	-1
5	0.1	-0.1	-1.1
5.08	-0.1	-0.7	-1.3
5.17	0.3	-0.2	-0.8
5.25	0.5	0.1	-0.6
5.33	0.4	0	-0.5
5.42	0.5	0.1	-0.6
5.5	0.1	-0.2	-1.1
5.58	0.5	0.1	-0.6
5.67	-0.2	-0.7	-1.2
5.75	0.1	-0.3	-1
5.83	0.1	-0.3	-0.9
5.92	0.4	0	-0.5
6	0.1	-0.3	-0.9
6.08	0.2	-0.2	-0.7
6.17	0.1	-0.2	-1
6.25	0.1	-0.3	-0.9
6.33	0	-0.3	-0.8
6.42	0	-0.4	-1
6.5	0	-0.4	-1
6.58	0	-0.4	-1.1
6.67	-0.6	-0.9	-1.4
6.75	0	-0.6	-1
6.83	0	-0.5	-0.9
6.92	0.3	-0.1	-0.6
7	0.1	-0.4	-0.9
7.08	-0.1	-0.6	-1
7.17	0.2	-0.1	-0.7
7.25	-0.1	-0.7	-0.9
7.33	-0.1	-0.6	-1
7.42	0.1	-0.5	-1
7.5	-0.3	-0.9	-1.3
7.58	-0.1	-0.6	-1.1
7.67	-0.2	-0.7	-1.1
7.75	-0.1	-0.8	-1
7.83	-0.1	-0.7	-1.2
7.92	0.2	-0.4	-1
8	-0.3	-0.8	-1.3

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Data Analysis

All Raw Data

See Above In Data Table... /\
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Thanks!

I have done most of my experiment with a lot of other people there to help me.

First and Foremost there is Noah. He has been by my side (Literally by my side) from the start with his EPIC computer programming skills he got me through all the technological help I needed. he also helped me stay on track and not very from my Job or Duty that needed to be accomplished. Without that push he provided I would not be where I am today. :D Thanks Man!

Then there comes my parents. Gosh they were pushing me from the start. Before It even started they were there by my side pushing me to get started and to continue working. I guess I should have listened to them a lot closer a lot sooner because when I got to the point where mot of the stuff was to be done I kind of was lazy and laid it off. But if I had listened to them I would have been a lot more on top of things.

Then there is Mr. Biche who provided me with the supplies I needed to get my experiment done.

There are a lot of people who helped me but I don't have time to list them all but if you are one of them thanks a lot!

Graphs

Photos

Results
In my experiment ,my Hypothesis before I started was that the compacted snow would be more insulating during the temperatures of the extreme winter night. The stronger insulator turned out to be the powder or less compacted snow. The difference was by a small degree.

Conclusion

I reject my hypothesis because when I did the experiment the exact opposite of it happened. I guessed as my hypothesis in the beginning I said that the Compacted snow would be more Insulating but when I did the experiment the Powdered snow was the stronger insulator.

Discussion

The Powder Snow is possibly more insulating because of the air pockets it has inside of it. When the cold air sweeps through the snow and through the other side it gets stuck up in the air pockets and it slows down the process in which the cold air travels through the snow. Trends my experiments showed: even though I had to redo my experiment a few times the powdered snow measured at a higher temperature than the compacted snow each time. Yes, I was able to answer the experiment question, however, I would have preferred to have my experiment continued for more than one night. Q. What type of snow has stronger Insulation properties Powder or Compacted. A. The powder snow has a stronger insulation property. My experiment had a few problems the first few times around because I was not familiar with using a LabQuest™ but after my teacher helped me understand it better I then did the experiment the correct way. I think my experiment could be improved or advanced by having it repeated on more than one night and by changing the quantity of snow. Or it could be improved by using different snow types. (Slush vs. Ice)??

Benefit to Community and/or Science

My experiment might be used to help people someday be able to create a snow cave that someone could survive in but was made out of powdery snow? you could use this information in the real world ,again, if you were trying to survive and you knew what snow could keep you better insulated ,it might increase your chance of survival. I don't think generally any of my data would just generally be any help because I don't believe people are constantly getting lost in snowy woods... are they? :§

Background Research

My Background research was mostly done at home while I was trying to find out more facts about snow's insulation properties.Where the cold air sweeps through the snow and through the other side because it gets stuck up in the air pockets and it slows down the process in which the cold air travels through the snow. Or another one that I found was that depending on the habitat or you know (Jungle vs. Desert) It can very which one is warmer because of the different air climats or thickness traveling through the snow.

References

My references were:
www.helium.com/items/2256833-the-insulation-properties-of-snow
Mr. Biche
Other Helium Sources
Dictionary
Abstract
To start my experiment I first had to get 8 cardboard pieces that I could make my "Snow Homes" for the compacted and powdery snow. Then I had to get a LabQuest™ to use to take my experiment data as it ran. I went home set up the stand and I forgot to play it. So I had to keep it there another night. Well I plugged in the tempo probes to early so it restarted so I got numbers like 12.6ºC and I was like "what!" So I had to go back a third night and redo my experiment... this time it worked. I played it and put the probes in early enough so that the data recorded and I was able to use the data and plug it into this wiki that you are reading now.

Thank You For Reading About Snow Insulation!

-Oliver Clay-Storm™